During a typical office visit to a physician or other medical professional (hereinafter “healthcare professional”), whether in an office or a hospital, a separate patient chart is created for each new patient. This chart lists all the relevant information related to that patient such as medical history and specific medical needs. The chart typically includes other pertinent information such as the patient's personal identification information such as their name, address, billing information, emergency contact, etc.
Indeed, the chart is the primary document maintained in most medical arenas. During subsequent visits this chart is pulled and handed to the healthcare professional for contemporaneously taking notes and making a record of discussions and advice given to the patient. The chart also typically contains information related to prescriptions written by the healthcare professional during particular visits. Since the chart is in paper form, it is handed back and forth between assistants and secretaries as part of the patient care process. Furthermore, such a chart may be handed to or passed through the accounting department for proper insurance and patient billing.
Significant drawbacks related to these paper charts are encountered on a daily basis in numerous healthcare facilities. For example, paper charts are often damaged, lost or misplaced. In particular, in a hospital environment, the patient charts are easily confused and therefore misplaced. In such an environment, the primary doctor often does not know the patient personally as it may be the first time that particular doctor has seen the patient such that the doctor may be unaware that the patient chart is incorrect in some instances. Adding to this, sometimes the patient is unable to communicate with the doctor such that the doctor must rely on the chart handed her or located in the room with the patient. Obviously, a lost or misplaced chart creates a very difficult situation because the re-creation of such information is nearly impossible. Other times the situation may be time critical such that re-creation of the information would simply take too long. Thus, a lost chart is not only time consuming but potentially dangerous as well.
Another significant problem associated with the paper charts relates to the legibility of the handwritten notes. Indeed, failure to accurately read a medical chart may result in the improper prescription of certain drugs, which can be very dangerous.
Furthermore, although not often recognized as a problem, the paper charts may in fact aid in the transmission of diseases as the charts are reused and passed from room to room without disinfection. The inadvertent transmission of diseases is, of course, a dangerous situation.
These problems all directly impact the safety and satisfaction of patients and the care that they are given and it is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.